In this World and the Next (Of Trinkets AU) HP Megacross
by jldew
Summary: This is the story of how Tom Riddle brought mankind to the stars. HP/Narnia Multicross Peter P./Tom R.
1. Chapter 1

I'm not from this world, in fact, I'm not sure how I ended up in this body. I woke up one day, at an Orphanage. I had a visitor, and journeyed to a castle filled with magic and secrets. I befriended a boy named Peter Pevensie, and together, Peter and I, along with his siblings, traveled to a world that was placed under a spell of always winter by the White Witch. We slew her, and defeated her armies. We ruled that country for a grand golden age. We were torn from Narnia, and forced to return to England. We learned magic at the castle, and graduated. I learned that not everything revolves around my life, and my choices. That there are powers too great for me to comprehend, and that, while I am powerful, I am nothing to those in power. I created a business, and went on many adventures. One night, I stumbled upon a crashed ship from space, and found the corpse of a being from a universe that I thought fiction.  
My name is Thomas Slytherin, Former Lord of Narnia. This is how I brought mankind to the stars. 


	2. Chapter 2

_The battle's done, And we kinda won. So we sound our victory cheer. Where do we go from here.  
Why is the path unclear, When we know home is near. Understand we'll go hand in hand, But we'll walk alone in fear. - Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Where Do We Go From Here. _

February, 1949, London.

It had been nearly two years since I had found the Salarian. Time had flown by quickly. I was busy. One of my first acts was to buy the mineral and rights for a stretch of Peru. Then, under the cover night, I had used massive drills animated by spells and created a warren of tunnels. Then I sent the philosopher's stone to work. Every inch of rock was sprayed with a chemical solution designed to grow crystals. Then, it was soaked in hundreds of gallons of water that had been marinated a few shards of a throwaway philosopher's stone, and it spread. Soon I had an instant gold mine to fund my research.

Then I broke into a JIOA building in Washington DC and copied all the personnel files they had. I went to work, abusing the hell out of a time turner, and bribed every german scientist I could get my hands to join my organization. Money and Security are a hell of a solution. For a few select scientists, I offered immortality. Or at least a form. There were a few. One particular linguist had lung cancer that I cured with the philosopher's stone.

To establish my evil lair, I mean secret base. I needed a place easily defensible and hidden. I kind of stole a mountain. Basically I imperio'd a series of government officials into setting up a mountain range in the death valley as protected land. Then I systemically created hallways and rooms that would be a lab, dormitories and housing areas. Specially designed portals allowed for electrical, plumbing, and the utilities they would need. In time, I'd create solar panels that would give power to the lab, and I setup hydroponics for outside food sources. I began buying equipment through shell companies. Spells gave the illusion of light, and outside weather. Soon my little science lab had over a hundred families. I was looking into purchasing an Island for recreational use or to use as a fallback location.

Peter and I had agreed a break was needed and we found ourselves at Professor Kirke's London home. Edmund and Susan were on break from Brakebills, and Lucy was just about down with her final year at Hogwarts. She was slated to join Saint Mungo's healing program in the fall. Eustace and Jill Poole were present. All of the people who had went to Narnia were gathered around the table and we got to talking about our adventures. The night grew late. Suddenly an apparition appeared in the room. He was ghostly, see through. Tall, and regal, and dressed in Narnian finery. He tried mouthing words. But the power of speech eluded him.

"Son of Narnia, speak!" Peter said, but the figure wouldn't or couldn't talk. A cold chill went down my spine, and the figure vanished.

"This was how it happened. This is how it happens." I thought.

The room sprang into action.

"We need to go to Narnia." Eustace was the first to speak.

"Like Hell." I replied. I got out of my chair and began pacing. I had half a mind to take my family, place them under the strongest wards I could bring to bear, and wait out the coming storm. Spatial compression spells. Strong enough shields. I could remove us from reality. Almost. Time would be an issue. I suppose I could use a Time Turner as a focus to put some sort of temporal bubble around us.

"Peter, Lu, Susan. Ed. Conference. Now." I said. We hurried into a room and Lucy joined me in throwing up as many privacy spells as we could.

"This is how it happens." I said.

"What?"

"This is how you three die. You aren't going near any sort of transportation except possibly portal. I won't let this happen. Do you hear me? I refuse to let this happen." I said. I felt my heart tighten in my chest.

"We're going under wards. All of us. We're going to my house in London. I'm throwing up every single defensive spell I can throw up. Then we're all getting in suits of armor and waiting for like a year."

"Tom, I think you're being a bit extreme, but I agree." Susan said.

"He took us away from our homes. We served Him, honored him with our actions. We bled and almost died for that country. I lost my son. Lost my home. I never want to return there." Susan said. I placed my hand on her shoulder. Words didn't express the sentiments that I wanted to express, but she took the gesture for what it was.

"We're not going to die are we?" Lucy asked. I looked at her. I saw the little girl who befriended a faun and lead us to our destiny in front of me for one brief second.

"You're not going to die." I told her. My voice was firm.

There was a knock on the door.

"Is everything okay?" Jill Poole's voice came through the door. I looked at Lucy.

"One way eavesdropping spell. We can hear them. They can't hear us."

"Those four are going to press this, aren't they?" Edmund said. His mouth in a firm line. I knew that face. His face, while set in stone, showed emotions that only those who had long been around him could read. We had all grown up since returning to Narnia. Our clothes were different, our faces were younger, without the beginnings of age lines and the sprinkle of gray hair that we had all gained in Narnia. But somehow, time had passed, and I realized that despite the short hair and lack of beard, and a face that wasn't tanned gold from long days in the training grounds, somewhere along the way, Edmund had grown back into his true body. Suddenly, standing before me was a boy no longer, a king without a country. One who had lost his family, and regained them. One who had taken a wife, and started to raise a son. One, who out of all us, was the fairest in his rulings. I let out a sigh.

"No, they're not." I said.

Peter walked away from our huddled circle. His movements tense. I saw the anger in the way he hunched his shoulders. I wondered, distantly, how many times had we had a meeting just like this in Cair Paravel?

"Do we tell them?" He asked finally.

"Tell them what?" I asked. I knew what he was asking, but I needed him to say it.

"Tell them everything, Tom. We can't just let them die." He said. I had to agree with him.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"When?" I asked.

She paused, biting her lip.

"In the books, from your old world." She said.

"Professor Kirke has a box of rings, hidden away and buried that allow them to travel the worlds or the pathway between them. That's how him and Polly got to Narnia originally. Ed and Peter find the rings while You, Diggory, Jill, Eustace, and Polly are on the train. The train crashes somehow and the seven of you die."

"What about Narnia, what happens there?" She asks. I closed my eyes. Delving through my occlumency enhanced memory, going back forty years.

"An ape dresses a donkey up as a lion, and passes him off as Aslan. He collaborates with Calormen to take over Narnia. The entire Narnian garrison and army is massacred. Then they accidently summon Tash and it really got bad. Aslan ends the world. Then he takes his believers into some sort of afterlife. A place called Aslan's country."

We all knew who Tash was, He was a god of Death. A dark god of Calormen origin. Suddenly a golden glow suffused the room. Like a warm summer day, the light covered us, comforted us, and He was suddenly there. Aslan, in all his great golden glory. We bowed.

"How are you here?" I asked.

"You called me. Time is growing short children, and I don't have much time." He said.

"I didn't." I said.

"There are some rules and conventions that all gods can use to appear. You invoked my name thrice. I used that invitation to appear. I have come to warn you. This is not your time. Nor will this be your last battle. Children. Do not pursue this path." Aslan said. His voice a low growl.

"But what about Narnia?" Lucy asked.

"Narnia was yours for a time, dear heart, but it is no longer yours. All people have a time, and you will have yours, but it is not for many years yet." He said.

"I want those rings." I said. To travel to a different world. That would be interesting not to mention profitable. My thoughts turned to Middle Earth. I'd taken down dragons before. A machine gun, and Smaug's hoard would be mine.

Aslan turned to me, and let out a low rumble that was a laugh, a growl, or some mixture of the two.

"Tom Riddle, haven't you learned yet to not meddle with things best left alone?" He asked me. I gave a sheepish grin.

"I came today to intervene. Narnia is facing it's doom, and I'm afraid, children, there is nothing you can do."

"But we aren't children, are we?" Susan said, and stood.

"We've grown up, twice now. Given ours life to you, pledged our rule to you. Watched you fall and rise again. I left behind my son, and frankly, I've played your games for far too long. Whether we return to Narnia or not, is frankly none of your concern." Susan said. Aslan roared.

"I was old when the star that keeps you warm was but a mote of dust, child. I have seen empires made of worlds to numerous to count rise and fall and become nothing but pieces pottery covered in death and dust. Do not presume, just because I have spent a few moments with you, that you know me, child." He said the last part with a snarl.

"The world I breathed life into is dying. There is no power you could bring to bear. No spell you can intone, no arcane gesture you can make that would save it. I'm trying to save you. Believe it or not, but that is what I'm doing. Had I any choice whatsoever in the matter, you all would have grown old and grey under my sun, on my soil, and died happily in your beds. But child, there are some things, some compromises and pacts that even I am ruled and bound by. I am sorry for your loss and what happened to the five of you is something I regret. No one should live a life, and be ripped apart from it. I have come to deliver a warning, and I have done so.  
"Now, time is growing short, and I must depart." Aslan said he turned away from us. The wall formed into a golden glowing portal, and he strode toward it.

"Aslan, wait." I said. He paused.

"Yes, Tom."

"I have reason to believe that I will visit Narnia again. Notes from my future. Notes I don't understand how I left, if Narnia is to perish soon. Could you tell me about that?"

"Time has a way of making things right, and that story isn't mine to tell." He said, and walked into his portal.

We stood there for a moment.

"What do we tell them?" Peter asked.

"The warning wasn't meant for them, was it?" Edmund said.

"If it was, he would have warned all of us, I wish I could Travel reliably." He continued. He was working on learning that, apparently Brakebills had discovered this was his Discipline, but he was still learning, and it would be time before he could take us along with him.

I wanted to disapparate right now and hunt for the Rings myself. I could easily rip the knowledge from the Professor's mind, but I liked to think I had learned from my mistakes. For far to long, I had rushed headlong into situations that required thought. Let me Gryffindor side get the best of me. I wanted to think that part of me was more controlled now.

"No one is going to die today." I said.

I strode out of the room and opened the door. The four of them were standing there.

"I have a confession to make." I said.

"I have read many stories. In this world, most of them have yet to be written. I have ridden along great grassy seas alongside a human girl who has given birth to the first dragons in centuries. Walked into a fiery volcano to destroy a dark ring of power. Fought ghouls and fae alongside a private investigator. In another world, in another life, there were seven books that captivated me. I read these seven books over and over again. Those were the story of Narnia, from its brilliant birth, to its boiling death. Aslan just visited us. Narnia is dying. There is nothing we can do to save it. No magic we can call upon. No spell we can perform. Professor, I know about the rings. Not because He told us, but because, once, long ago. I was a lonely boy, with no friends to call my own, who read those books under a tree by house that was lost in the world I came from, and has yet to be built in the world I currently live in. I know all about your adventures. About Jadis journey to London by your Uncle's hand. About green and yellow rings that allowed two children to walk the paths between the worlds. About a silver apple you picked for your dying mother. How the wood from that tree allowed us access to a land we ruled proudly, and I thank you for that. But, I'm afraid I need to know where those rings are. Not to save Narnia, but to ensure we are not caught up in the apocalypse that is about to brought upon it." The four of them looked shocked, like I had just slapped them in the face. Polly Plummer was the first to speak.

"I am old. I've seen many things. My children are grown. I want to at least make an attempt." She said. The Professor nodded.

"I won't let you do this." I said.

"You can't stop us." Professor Kirke said, there was steel in his voice, his arms were crossed. For the first time, I noticed the way his fingers were muscular in a way only wandless magic could tone.

"Tom, you aren't the first magician to visit Narnia. You forget my uncle was a magician. He taught me everything he knew." I nodded. I was powerful, but if I had learned anything, it was that age and skill beat sure power everytime. I had gotten that lesson kicked into me more than once.

"Jill, Eustace, what do you want to do?" Peter asked.

"It's worth a shot, isn't it?" Jill said, her voice determined. Eustace looked at us, and then looked at Jill. I had seen that look more than once. It was the same look Peter gave me.

"I go where she does." Eustace said. I had to respect that. I knew, that if Peter had made his choice, I would have faced down hell to be by his side. I nodded.

"So be it." I said, I created a portkey. The five of us left for my apartment in London. I hadn't bought many properties yet. I had this place, and a home in the Hamptons. My father had wanted me to stay in Little Hangleton, but I hated the old town. One day, when my grandparents passed, and he died, I'd burn down the old riddle manor and build a proper english country home. But for now, this apartment was the place we called home. I raised my wards with a gesture. I casted a few more. Extra defensive spells. House elves would bring us food. Letters left via portal to Brakebills and Hogwarts that there had been a family emergency. For a week we waited. It seemed as though we were under siege. More than once Lucy, Peter, or Edmund tried leaving the apartment for reasons unknown to them, and Susan and I stopped them with magic or physical restraints. I spelled the doors from opening. Finally, it had happened. It was the middle of the day, and it felt as something broke. Some thread snapped, and we knew whatever was going to happen had. It was a moment before I came to my senses. I checked my Occlumency barriers and my wards. They were all intact. I breathed a sigh of relief of that. I looked at around at my family. We had survived the destruction of our home. Our childhood was over. Where did we go from here?


	3. Chapter 3

_t's a beautiful night, we're looking for something dumb to do

Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you

Is it the look in your eyes, or is it this dancing juice

_

_Who cares baby, I think I wanna marry you- Bruno Mars. Marry You._

1949, London.

I hated funerals. I had attended far to many of them in the after math of Jadis' war. As an agent of state for Narnia. The last personal one I had attended was in my old life. One I tried not to let me mind wander to. In the movies, there's always the cliche of a rainy day during a funeral. That's a load of bullshit. It was a clear day when we buried Professor Kirke. A snowy one when we put Eustace Scrubb's body into the ground. Ground still frozen from winter. Four funerals, each a day apart. Each filled with tears and recollection. It was easier on me than it was on the Pevensies, on Peter. Eustace particularlly. He was distant family, but family nonetheless. For the first time in years, the Pevensies, including their parents were in one room. Funerals have a way of bridging once vast distances. Soothing wounds and insults that had festered.

The memorials came and went. The Pevensies returned to the respective schools. Summer came, and burned itself away into fall. They had been named the sole heirs of Professor Kirke, and as such, we gained the box with the rings in it. For once, I took Aslan's warnings to heart and placed them in a locked warded box. Peter graduated from Brakebills, a discipline in a form of telekinesis. Lucy entered Saint Mungo's. My scientists were able to reverse engineer the suits the salarians wore, in a way. The respirators were years away from the gas mask that earth currently used and we laid out a plan to slowly upgrade throughout the years. I gave them some pointers in computers. I know about silicon processors, and had told them as much. They were working from some brief sketches I remembered from learning about basic computer science. Logic boards and blueprints from the old Apple I. In my old life, I worked as a software engineer, but I had also been a tech nerd. As a kid, I was captivated by Steve Job's story, and had learned everything I could about his success. I was hoping with my sketches and ideas, I could advance computer science by a few decades. I filed a few patents at the British Patent Office. Members of the government took notice, and the first few orders for the M-Tek 1 came in. In the magical side, I adapted these same circuit boards and processors to create a magical computer.

Reg had finished his Mastery and had been courting Augusta since our third year. Their wedding was in early '51. It was the magical event of the season. It was late evening, and chill had come to grounds of Longbottom Manor. I had wrapped a cloak enchanted with warming spells around my robes. Peter joined me and wrapped his arms around me. He nestled his head on top of my shoulders. We were standing on the balcony over looking the grounds. Most of the party goers were still caught in the revelry of the night. The elf wine and fire whisky flowed freely that night. I found the crowd grating. I had never been one for ceremony and large gatherings.

"It would be nice if we could do this one day." A voice behind me said, I spun around, wand raised. It was Peter, a holstered my wand. He made a dashing sight in his tuxedo.

"Do what?" I replied, turning back to the balcony and my observation of the revelry below.

"This, the wedding. The reception. A honeymoon."

"Who says we can't? We've already been married once. Why not again?" I asked, turning once more towards him. His hair had darkened in the years since we came home, time in the sun had turned it to a sandy brown streaked through with highlights. Moonlight shone down

"The society we live in-" He started. We had had this argument before. When his parents had disowned him. However temporarily. I knew how to hold a grudge, and they were at the very top of my list.

"Fuck society. Magical society doesn't care. Our friends don't care. If you want a wedding, it will be the grandest wedding magical Britain has ever seen." I told him. He smiled, and I took his hand in mine. Somehow, we had lost so much, but gained something else. Something, that while it wasn't as lasting as a crown, and a castle, and all the finery that came with it, something that had been broken and reforged. A path and a place that was greater than the two of us. I lifted up my cloak, and he joined me under the warming charms. For the moment, peace was ours.

The days after that were busy. Peter had drifted for awhile before returning to Brakebills as a member of the Staff. We alternated between upstate New York and London. Edmund learned how to travel reliably, but was still working on taking people along with him. Between my various buisnesses, and Peter's classes, our days flew. '51 turned to '52. Minerva left the ministry, and got Mastery in Transfiguration, returning our Alma Matter to join Professor Dumbledore as a transfiguration teacher. There had been a baby boom, and Hogwarts would soon need multiple teachers for their classes. Reginald welcomed his first son, Francis, into the world ten months after the wedding.

I was working on reinventing the internet. It was going poorly. I just didn't remember enough about that. I had taken a massive advantage for granted. I knew it had something to do with telephones, but I didn't remember what exactly that entailed. I didn't even know where to start. I barely remember things like TelNet and IRC, but the internet had been firmly in the dialup age when I was younger, and had exploded into DSL and cable when I had started browsing.

Thankfully, we had worked out a basic translation of the omni-tool's UI, and we were using that to slowly parse through a codex. Hopefully that would allows us to boot strap upward with the limited amount of tech we had at our disposal. We immediately decided that we would have two seperate divisions in the tech. That which we could release to the public, and the technology that would be ours to use in secret. I had a goal. I needed to reach Mars. I needed to get to that Prothean Beacon and find the blue prints for the catalyst. Then. prepare Earth, and the galaxy to defeat rampant AI cuttlefish. I also wanted to take over the shadow broker network. But that was a long term goal. Meanwhile, well I was doing that, I was also planning something else. I was creating a private military company, snapping up GIs and former british military that had been released from service. We specialized in diplomatic and executive protection. Me, creating a possibly black ops division? Never!

Peter had made inroads in his research on Niffins. There was an element to a human soul called a shade, which apparently they lost when they became Niffins, which had to be retrieved. We weren't sure how to find that. We also had discovered that Niffins could be held in a enchanted box. Upon finding that, we immediately began the processing for enchanting it. Another issue we faced was the fact you needed the place where a NIffin was formed to summon them. That would be problematic. We needed to figure out a way to literally time travel.

I definitely had an idea how to gain a means for that. But, it would take literally years, and I'd need to ambush a certain Chatwin. I put out feelers across America. Susan had taken over a group of hedgewitch, and were slowly consilidating them. I'd also started an information network. It was in the beginning stages, but it would pay off in time. I begin delving into Horomancy, and that consumed my time.

'52 became '53 and that turned to '54, and Peter and I were married for a second time. It was a small ceremony, with just our friends from the magical world. We opted for a handfasting instead of an exchanging of rings. Edmund enlisted in the British Officer corps and began rising in the ranks. He found a Breakbills grad, an they settled down. Susan dated a muggle girl, and then a hedgie boy, and started an investment company in New York City using my stock advice while gaining a guest lecturing position at Columbia.

We lived life, and time passed. 


	4. Chapter 4

_ight, push the sails, read the data, cities glow

Hands type the keys, click the mouse, out we go

Our voices carry round the world and into space

_

_Send us out to colonize another place - __Vixy & Tony, Uplift._

January 9th, 2009

Pevensie-Riddle Investments corporate headquarters, New York City.

I had been lucky to get this job. I knew. I was also terrified. I had graduated U of M nearly a year ago. I had put feelers out for a few jobs. I had majored in Finance and had gotten lucky. With the current economic downturn, there were tons of people out of work, and PRGI was one of the very few companies that were actually actively hiring and turning a profit.

I was terrified because the CEO of PRGI, Edward Pevensie-Riddle, was a bit of a recluse, notorious for vanishing for months, only to turn back up at the headquarters and fire people for alleged contract breaches, and then hiring a slew of new workers to take their place. I couldn't complain. It was those rapid strings of terminations that lead me to gain an interview, and a place in the company. PRGI paid handsomely. That was for sure. So, there I was, in a dark Brioni suit that made my AmEx cry, and a hotel that would be my home until I could snag an apartment. The ground floor was all light woods and glass.

It was rumored his father was running things behind the scenes, according to Reddit and other social media, but that was impossible. Thomas Riddle was an old man. He was probably doddering away in a high-end nursing home or something. I checked in at the front desk. The receptionist was this short firecracker of a redhead with a white short-sleeved blouse, black pants, and a matching blazer. She had odd tattoos on both of her hands. They were black starbursts with numbers in them. Her left hand had the number twenty-five. The other number fifty. She wore a gold and silver wedding ring. Her hair was done up in an odd bun, with two sticks holding it in place.

I leaned over the counter.

"Hi, Jeffrey Carstairs, I'm supposed to report to floor fifteen, I'm a new financial analyst, and you are?" I said, flashing my trademark pretty-boy smile at the firecracker. The girl looked at me, and back at her desktop. Her eyes were the prettiest green I've ever seen. I had to get her number.

"Ivy Potter, and I'm taken." She said. She spoke with a crisp English accent.

"Financial analyst?" She asked, typing away at her computer, and I nodded. After a few moments, a printer whirred away. She turned to retrieve whatever it spat out, and I noticed a third tattoo, another black starbust with a 100 on it, on the back of her neck. She produced a white badge with my face and name on it.

"This is your access card to the building. Try not to lose it, Carstairs." She said, waving me to the elevator.

I walked over to the elevator. I waved my card in front of it, the pad turned from red to green, and the doors opened. I stepped inside, hit the button labeled fifteen, and then waited for the elevator to rise. It was so smooth, I didn't even realize I had risen fifteen floors in a few seconds.

According to the email I had received, I was to meet the Head of Finance along with my direct superior. Then I would receive a in-depth brief of what I was going to analyze.

The head of the finance department had a massive corner office that was frosted glass panes. The whole office had a weird feel to it. It was wood and glass, but there was a hum in the air I couldn't quite place. I entered the office. An older version of Ivy was looking back at me.

There was a trio of monitors stationed at one corner of the desk. Mounted on a wall was a television currently tuned to CNN. A weird looking gold monitor was on the other. She stood and extended her hand toward me.

"Hello, Jeffrey right?" She said warmly, and I took her hand and nodded.

"I'm Lily Snape, head of financial analysis here in New York. Your boss, Harry, is running late. He's currently heading a project in Colorado and is running late from the trip, so I'm afraid we'll have to start without him." She replied. I nodded.

"Will I be going to Colorado as well?"

"Depending on the situation. We currently work on analyzing futures and supply cost projections for our overseas investments. Our aerospace division has their R and D offices in Colorado, and they needed an in-person meeting regarding some of their projections. Their spending has been a bit out of control lately, but they wanted to show Harry some numbers that would prove that the spending will be under control. While we wait, I need you to sign some forms." She said, handing me a ballpoint pen, and some sheets of paper. One of them was odd, it almost looked like parchment.

"What are these?" I asked.

"Standard NDA and Non-compete. The bottom form is a direct deposit slip. Normally, we'd let HR deal with this, but frankly, you've been earmarked as soon as we got your resume." I signed through the papers. As I signed the NDA I noticed a tingle in my hand, and shook it. The tingling subsided after a moment. I chalked it up to too much video games. I finished the paper work, and set it down. She took it, made a copy, and returned that to me. I slid it inside my briefcase.

"So, you've met my daughter?" She said. I frowned. That was an odd question.

"Ivy?" I said after a moment, and she nodded.

"She's working in reception while attending Columbia." I nodded. I had done the work and school thing. I worked at Starbucks while I was living in Ann Arbor.

"You know, Mr. Carstairs, you're a bit of an anomaly. Usually, we pick our future hires right out of high school. Put them through college, and then hire them. Sometimes, our scouts miss a potential hire." She said.

"Well, I'm sure that's the reason they missed me. I was homeschooled." I said, and she nodded.

Suddenly, a member of the staff ran into her office.

"Ma'am, turn up your television." She said. Lily frowned, reached for a remote and did so.

"This is Wolf Blitzer with a special edition of the Situation Room. Word has just reached me of a situation in the San Fransisco Bay. Approximately one hour ago, a strange ship has touched down. This ship is shaped remarkably like a city." He said, and the camera turned to an image of helicopter footage. It panned over the massive structure. It was made of what appeared to be glass and dark metal. It floated on the bay. Imposing, enormous.

"We're not sure of what is going on, but we've received word that President Henry Hayes is about to release a statement."

The screen cut to a shot of the President at his desk. He looked tired, worn as if he had aged a few years in the months since his reelection.

"My fellow Americans. Today I wish to address the concerns that this strange ship has raised. Be assured that this isn't an enemy. I am not just addressing you as Americans, but as citizens of our planet. Across the world, in Britain, in China, France, and Russia, and many other nations, their leaders are addressing their citizens. For the past ten years, we, along with the other signatories of the Real Antartic Treaty, have been involved in exploring something that we call the Stargate. This Stargate has allowed us access to new world and technology that was beyond our capabilities. In the coming months, The United States and other countries, along with select corporations such as Microsoft, Tesla and PRI Technologies will be holding conferences and debriefings with their staff and the world. We stand on the precipice of a new age of cooperation and advancement and we ask your patience as citizens not only of this grand country but as a citizen of Earth."

I was absolutely floored. There were always rumors running around. Men in black. That weird MMO that was circulating. But I never thought we had actually gone to space aside from the moon.

I looked at Lily. She had a knowing look in her eye. As if she had expected this.

"Welcome to the company." She said, There was a knock on the door.

"Enter." She said. A shorter scrawny man entered. He was dressed in an impeccable black suit. His hair was dark, and messy. His hazel eyes had a playful look at them.

"Harry! How was Colorado?" She asked.

"It was great Lily. Aerospace is finally back on track." He looked around.

"Ah, so this is the new hire?" He asked.

"Harry Potter," He said, extending his hand. I shook it and introduced myself.

"So, Mr. Carstairs. Now that we've gotten all your forms squared away. I have a question for you, do you believe in magic?" Harry Potter asked. I looked between the two of them, and wondered exactly what I had gotten myself into. 


	5. Chapter 5

_Let's do the Time Warp again!- Rocky Horror Picture Show._

1969, Washington D.C

My studies in Horomancy were coming along nicely, and I was making progress. I knew that time travel was something that could be messy, however. Fiction from my old life and podcasts had lead me to create a series of passphrases and codes that I would use with myself in case I ran into a future iteration of myself or anyone else affiliated with me. When I wasn't working on that, or a way to get my son back, I was mostly stuck in meetings. My computer business was coming nicely. Reverse engineering was a hell of a thing. I was having trouble reverse engineering the guns, but the Salarian codex was basically an intergalactic Wikipedia including info on how older, pre-mass effect field firearms functioned. There were other things on the Omni-tool that would help the earth. I had teams working on reverse engineering and replicate tokamak generators, pre-eezo space, and air fighters. I was making money hand over fist and spending it just as quickly sometimes. Research and Development was expensive work.

Summer in the city was hot. Even with cooling spells and the newly invented central air unit cooling the hotel we were staying in, the heat was sweltering. Peter and I had found ourself stripping down to nothing to stay cool. The dark suits we were forced to wear were not helping matters. We had been invited to Washington D.C, not because of my tech business, but because of magic of all things. Well, a form of magic. Apparently, there were Russian spies lose, and there was an artifact that D.C needed protecting. My old master, Albus Dumbledore, had been asked for a specialist on the matter. Peter had been asked to help out. The spies could use magic. It had been nonlethal so far, one of them had used an electrical variant of a stunning spell. So there we were, in the August heat, waiting for a squad of Russian spies. We didn't even know if they were headed here, but apparently, the warehouse had some kind of old DoD prototype they didn't want to fall into enemy hands.

We staked out the warehouse for a day or two, at dusk, it finally happened. Someone triggered Peter's perimeter wards and I gathered up my magic, ready to bind these idiots so I could go back to my lab.

There were four of them. One was a tall dark-skin man who was built like a linebacker. A young bookworm type, an older grizzled looking guy that screamed life-long military and the fourth was a woman with light straw blond hair who also looked like a military type.

Under dissilusion, we watched them walk into the warehouse.

"Daniel, do you see anything?" The blond woman asked. The bookworm, Daniel, held his hands up in a textbook Mann's reveal. That was when I dropped my disillusionment spell. I threw out a stunner at the linebacker, who instinctually dodged and drew a weird wand with one hand, opening fire at me, which Peter blocked with a spell designed to block electrical attacks.

Daniel threw out a bit of battle magic, one of my variants on a force spell designed to be launched with one hand. I ripped the spell apart mid-air with my wand, and a ripped the wand from the liner backer with another

"Tom!" Daniel yelled. I froze, and bound the blond woman, who had drawn a pistol.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Jack, stop!" Daniel yelled, and I noticed the vet was about to shoot Peter with one of those weird wands. Peter raised his hand, and the vet fell to his knees, gasping at the unseen force that was choking him.

"Tom, My name is Daniel Jackson. You told me, if I were to encounter you, the Weather in Tulsa is Firestorm." Daniel said. I turned and looked at him.

"Tango," I replied.

"Indigo." Daniel said.

"Mike," I said back.

"Epsilon." He said, completing the phrase that I had created to inform myself of any future time travelers.

"Peter let him go," I said. Peter frowned but released the spell.

"Get on that walkie, and tell them that the situation is handled," I said, Peter looked at me for a second and then nodded. He took a bulky two-way radio out of his pocket.

"So, how will I know you? Do we get Edward back?" I asked.

"Tom, I can't tell you that, you taught me about temporal paradoxes," Daniel said.

I nodded.

"We have to hurry." The blond woman said. She tore off a tarp, and there was a giant ring underneath. A ring I recognized from my old life.

"That's a stargate," I said. Daniel gave me a funny look.

"Can we help?" I said. Daniel quickly explained what was going on, and we helped them encode the chevrons while providing power with an electricity spell. They left quickly and the ring vanished. I looked down at my belt. It still had the strange wand, the Zat. I put that in a pouch on my back. We reported back to Albus' contact and explained the situation. This wasn't the first time temporal travel had happened during a black op. Apparently, during the War, this sort of thing was slightly commonplace. After the exhaustive debriefing, we returned home to London. The next morning, over the phone, I told my information network to add another list to names to watch. Beneath Quentin Coldwater, I wanted any information on one Daniel Jackson, if he was even born yet.


End file.
